


Winter's Rain

by Grednforge23



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-01-04 10:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18341783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grednforge23/pseuds/Grednforge23
Summary: His name is James Buchanan Barnes. And he's going to take back his life. My take on a way things could have happened without Civil War. Set about a month after Winter Soldier.





	1. Chapter 1

Being in hiding shouldn’t have been a problem for him. Having been a former Hydra weapon, it was something he was far more used to than for most people. But something about having just fought someone who may or may not have known him years ago made the whole deal harder.

 

After going through the Smithsonian exhibit that only left him more confused about his past, he decided to go away. Far away. But apparently he needed to work on his definition of far away, considering he ended up in New York.

 

It only took about an hour for all the flashing lights and constant noise to make him antsy and looking for quiet. This brought him to a surprisingly packed coffee shop in a mostly unoccupied part of the city. Luckily, even though so many people were there, most of the small tables had two, if not three people sitting at them, it was still mostly quiet. The easy listening station and the quiet murmurs of the other patrons were the only noticeable sounds.

 

He looked around for an empty table, frowning when he found no such thing. The emptiest table he saw had one person at it, a young woman with her form hunched over a laptop, typing furiously.

 

Her brown hair was cut short and spiked in the front and clunky, dorky looking glasses covered her face, hiding her eye color from his angle. The drink on the table in front of her looked barely touched, but the papers that covered the rest of it showed she’d been there a while. He looked around again in vain before getting in line.

 

A few minutes later he had a coffee in his hand, black and piping hot, and was standing to the side, debating whether or not he should ask the brunette if he could sit with her. Eventually one of the baristas got his attention. “Dude, you’ve been staring at her since you came in. Either go talk to her or I’m gonna call the cops and tell’em some creep is stalkin one of my regulars.”

 

He snapped his head around to glare at the barista but he was already gone and helping another customer. He waited another minute before actually going over to her.

 

Her typing didn’t pause as he walked closer, her full attention to the screen in front of her, giving him time to look at the papers at her table. Various newspaper clippings were strewn about, showing different superheroes at different points from the past few years. Looking at the tops of the papers, he saw different names from all over the country though most seemed to be localized in and around New York.

 

He looked at her for a second, wondering if she would notice him without him having to do anything, before seeing that obviously wasn’t going to happen and clearing his throat. She jumped and squeaked at the sudden noise, looking up at him with pink cheeks. “Um, yes?”

 

“Uh… Can I sit there?” He nodded to the seat across from her.

 

She shifted a little, looking away before meeting his gaze again. “May I ask why..?”

 

“Well, everywhere else is kind of full and I’d rather drink this here than out there.”

 

He nodded to the door distastefully, making her smile a little. “Lemme guess, either the noise or the lights?”

 

“Both, actually.” She giggled a little, motioning for him to sit.

 

“Then I take it this is your first time to New York. Well, that and the fact that you’re here.” He quirked an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, waiting for her to explain as he settled himself in the chair across from her. She pulled the top of her laptop mostly down before leaning in a bit with a small smile on her face and he caught a faint scent of vanilla. “See, people only come here if they know where they’re going or they’re here by accident. I come in here at least once a week, if not more, and I’ve never seen you before. So, logic dictates this is your first time around here.”

 

He looked vaguely impressed, leaning back in his seat and taking a sip of his slightly cooled drink. “Not bad. But you’re a bit off.”

 

He was met with a raised eyebrow and the soft snap of her laptop being closed. “Do tell.” Bright brown eyes met steely blue head on as her red stained lips curled around her straw and took a long sip. He cleared his throat and shifted a little in his chair, sitting up a bit straighter.

 

“I actually used to live here. In Brooklyn. But that was a long time ago and I don’t remember much of it at all.” He looked down at the table to keep his mind from wandering.

 

She was confused, no doubt, but didn’t push. “So what brought ya back? If ya don’t mind me askin of course.”

 

“It’s complicated..” She nodded and things got quiet between them again. She took the opportunity to look him over. Long dark hair fell into his face, stubble covered his jaw and cheeks like a shadow, but nothing could make his stunning eyes any less bright. Even the dark circles around them couldn’t diminish it. A black jacket and matching black shirt covered his arms and chest, and black gloves covered his hands. This made her raise an eyebrow, seeing as it wasn’t particularly cold.

 

He took a sip of his coffee, taking note of the fact that she was looking at him. Seemingly checking him out. He couldn’t imagine why, but didn’t bring attention to it. He’d gotten a look when he first saw her.

 

Brown hair and eyes didn’t make her look all that interesting, until he got a closer look. She had more piercings than he’d ever seen on a woman before, two in her left ear and three in her right, and both ears had one hole at least big enough to fit a pencil. He had also seen, he thought, a flash of blue inside her mouth when she had been talking, but he wasn’t sure. Her outfit, like the rest of her didn’t look like much until further inspection.

 

Her shirt had something he didn’t understand on it, something about a soft kitty with a big cartoon picture of a cat, and her jeans had various doodles on them, mostly from stuff he didn’t recognise. He did see a few logos he thought he knew and had a very clear view of the SHIELD logo and what looked like his mission- no. Steve. Steve’s shield.

 

His eyebrows furrowed at the sight of it, making her quirk an eyebrow. “What?”

 

“That thing on your jeans. The shield. How do you know that?”

 

She gave him a look. “You’re kidding, right? That’s _Captain America's_ shield! Everyone knows it! I mean, after the Battle of New York, then that thing like, last month in D.C., not to mention he’s had a Smithsonian exhibit for like, forever! I’ve never actually been to it, but I’ve read all about’im online. Superheroes are kinda fascinating to me.”

 

She blushed a little and looked back down at the table, taking a sip of her drink as she started gathering up her papers. She ended up shoving them in a notebook he hadn’t noticed, and it and her laptop into her purse. She shifted a little awkwardly on her seat, her eyes trailing back to his hands. “Why’re you wearing gloves? It’s not all that cold out.”

 

He looked down at his gloves, clenching his hands into light fists before stretching them back out. He didn’t look at her as he responded. “Because otherwise you wouldn’t be talking to me. No one would.”

 

His left hand twitched, just barely. He didn’t feel it though. He wouldn’t have even known it had happened, had he not been staring right at it.

 

She saw too, the corners of her mouth twitching down. “Now I doubt that. It can’t be that ba-”

“It is. Trust me.” Their eyes met again, blue on brown, as her hand slowly moved toward his. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t feel particularly compelled to move. A second before her hand would have touched the gloves, his hand jerked back. “You don’t want to do that.”

 

She wrinkled her brow but pulled her hand back anyways. “... Is there any way I could get you to change your mind?”

 

“Probably not.” He kept from looking at her.

 

She just nodded slowly before looking up with a small smile. “I just realised I never introduced myself.”

 

She held a hand out tentatively. “Amber Rain Harrison.”

 

He looked at her hand wearily, making her roll her eyes. “I’m not gonna try to take your glove off. Swearzies. I’m just tryna be polite.”

 

He sighed and shook hands with her. The material was soft and warm on her hand, something she couldn’t quite place but liked anyway. He still hadn’t said anything.

 

“Ya know, it’s also polite to respond with your own name.” She prompted, an eyebrow raised as she pulled her hand away.

 

He hesitated for a second, honestly having to remember, but when he speaks he sounds just as confident with it as she did. “James Buchanan Barnes.”

 

Her eyebrows drew together in vague recognition. “Have we met before?”

 

He shook his head. “Nope.”

 

“Hm… Well your name sounds familiar.”

 

He tried his hardest not to tense, saying casually as he could. “I know I haven’t met you before. I’d remember someone like you.”

 

Her cheeks flushed pink and she giggled. “Well Mister Barnes, in that case it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

Suddenly his brain flashed backwards. He saw a girl with dark curls precisely pinned up in a bun, wearing a red dress that accentuated her curves. His hand held hers as the giggled in exactly the same way, brown eyes sparkling. He felt his past self smile and press a kiss to the back of her hand. “Pleasure’s all mine Miss. Now how ‘bout we go dance?”

 

He snapped back to reality holding his head and hissing in pain. Amber looked at him, eyes wide and confused. “James? Are you ok??”

 

He held up a finger as the pain slowly started to subside. He let out a few small puffs of air to try and control his heart rate again before setting his head down on the table and just letting it sit for a minute.

 

Out of instinct she went to rub the back of his neck, only to have her wrist grabbed hard. “Don’t. Touch me.”

 

She whimpered a little but stayed still. A few minutes passed and slowly his grip lessened but she was still reluctant to pull away.  It wasn’t until he picked his head back up that she pulled her hand back. She looked over her wrist as he looked down at his lap.

 

“... I’m sorry…” The words weren’t something he was used to saying, especially not recently, but he still remembered the impact they had on people.

 

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I-it’s just habit… I do it to my friends when they’re in pain.”

 

He nodded a bit before looking up at her. “Is your wrist ok?”

 

She nodded a little, flexing and turning it different ways before just shaking it out. “Yeah. It hurts a little but I’ll just take some ibuprofen and get over it.” She shrugged and smiled a little. “D’you want some for your head? I don’t know what that was but it seemed like it hurt.”

 

“Do you have some with you?”

 

“Lemme check. I usually have a bottle with me.” She pulled her rather large Harry Potter cross body into her lap before starting to empty it in search of the pill bottle. His eyes widened at the mass amount of stuff that came out of this woman’s purse. Her laptop, notebook and papers from earlier, along with a pencil, a deck of cards, a loaded keychain, a can of pepper spray, some sort of tablet, and a wallet that frankly looked more like a man’s wallet than a woman’s all came out along with a few odds and ends before she pulled out a smaller bag. “Aha! Found you, you little bastard!”

 

He raised an eyebrow at her but she didn’t notice. She looked into the smaller bag, fiddling around inside of it before pulling out a white bottle a grin. “Ibuprofen for one Mister Barnes.”

 

He smiled a little as she opened the bottle, pouring two pills into her hand before holding her hand out. “Here ya go.”

 

He took the pills, swallowing both with a sip of his lukewarm coffee. His nose wrinkled a little at the taste, making her chuckle. “You want another coffee? Mine’s mostly melted anyways and I don’t mind getting you one.”

 

He looked down at the dregs in his cup before looking back up at her and nodding. “That’d actually be really nice. Thank you.”

 

She beamed and waved him off as she got up, taking both their cups. “It’s no problem, sweetheart. Just black coffee?”

 

He nodded again before she flounced off, leaving him at the table with all of her stuff spread out on the table as she ordered their coffee, and he couldn’t help but smile a little to himself. This woman he’d just met already trusted him enough to leave her stuff. After all these years, that seemed hard to believe, but here he was.

 

She came back a minute later with both their cups in hand, plopping down in her spot across from him with a smile as she slides his cup to him. “So, seeing as you’re back for the first time in I don’t know how long cuz you wouldn’t tell me, where’re ya stayin?”

 

He shrugged and sipped his coffee. “I can find somewhere to stay. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

 

Her lips twitched down, hands curled around her own cup. “Are you sure? I remember when I first moved up here, I had to stay in a hotel the first night I was here and it was ridiculous expensive, unless I wanted to stay in a really crap hotel.”

 

“I’ll be fine Amber. I’ve stayed in worse places than a crappy hotel.” He got that far away look in his eyes she was growing accustomed to.

 

She hummed softly, sipping her frappucino. She checked the time on her phone before her eyes widened and she almost choked on her drink. “Shit, is it already that late?? Fuck…”

 

She started shoving all her stuff back in her bag, draining her cup as fast as she could as she did. Once she was almost all packed up she seemed to have a thought, ripping a blank page out of her notebook and scribbling something down before almost shoving it in his hand. “Listen, James, it was great talking to you but if I don’t run I’m gonna be late to a meeting with my boss and he already doesn’t like me so just hold on to that and call me later, alright? Hopefully I’ll talk to you soon!”

 

She grinned and with that she was out of the coffee shop, leaving James Buchanan Barnes alone in a coffee shop with the phone number of a girl he just met in his hand and a weird, tingly feeling in his stomach he hadn’t felt in years.

 

_Coffee later? Call me! Amber xx 202-555-0114_


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Amber got back to her apartment she’d almost forgotten about what had happened at The Brewed Awakening before her meeting. Almost. It wasn’t until she plopped down on her old shitty futon in her living room and started pulling stuff out of her bag she remembered. 

 

After the papers for her next unofficial assignment from her also unofficial boss, J. Jonah Jameson, her laptop and notebook came out. An empty page fluttered out of her notebook after being opened and closed so many times at the meeting. She furrowed her eyebrows, silently questioning herself as to why there would be a page ripped out before it came back to her. The cute guy back at the coffee shop. James. She couldn't help but smiled as a bit of pink covered her cheeks.

 

Sure she’d only met the man that day but there was no denying he was attractive. Chiseled jawline, gorgeous eyes, big pouty lips, and that was just his face. She didn’t really get the opportunity to see any more, but she had no doubt it was just as nice from the neck down. Her blush got deeper and she restrained a nervous giggle, even though she was the only one in her little apartment. 

 

“No. Stop it Amber. You barely know the guy. You just met him today. Bad.” She scolded herself before sighing and laying back against her futon. 

 

She pulled out her phone a minute later and took it off of silent, lips turning down slightly when she saw she had no calls or texts. Not a second later however, one of her friends from back home texted her, making her grin. 

 

**Moma Blair: Hey babe! How’s my favorite New Yorker doing? <3**

 

Her grin widened as she texted back. 

 

**Deano: Good, good.**

 

**Moma Blair: Anything interesting happen today? I know you had a meeting with that douche of a boss of yours.**

 

Her cheeks flushed pink again at the thought of the man she’d met earlier.

 

**Deano: Oh, nothing much. He was a douche like normal, but I’ve got another assignment that’ll keep me out of there for a while.**

 

**Moma Blair: That’s good.**

**Deano: How are things back home? Everyone good?**

 

**Moma Blair: Yeah, everyone’s good mostly. Theo still misses you like crazy.**

 

Her heart twinged and she bit her lip, closing her eyes briefly before messaging back.

 

**Deano: I miss him too. But don’t tell him. It won't help either of us.**

 

**Moma Blair: Yeah, I got you boo. :(**

 

Things were quiet for a few minutes before Blair texted again.

 

**Moma Blair: SO other than that did anything happen?**

 

She couldn’t help but smile at her friend who, even from so far away, was trying to make her feel better. She also knew there was no point keeping anything from her, seeing as there was no real was she could embarrass her from so far away.

 

**Deano: I might have met someone at the coffee shop…**

 

Before Amber could even add anything, Blair texted back, making her giggle.

 

**Moma Blair: Ooooh! Boy? Girl? Cute?? I need details!**

 

**Deano: Definitely boy and /definitely/ cute. Long dark hair, pretty blue eyes, big pouty lips. Looked pretty muscley but he was pretty bundled up so I'm not sure. Overall a yes.**

**Moma Blair: Niiiice. What happened?**

 

Amber sat back more against her futon, getting comfortable before responding.

 

**Deano: Well I was just sitting at one of the tables, working like normal, when he walked up and asked if he could sit with me. There weren’t really any other options and he looked pretty uncomfortable and cautious so I figured why not and let him sit. We talked for a while then I had to go cuz of the meeting so I gave him my number and told him to call me later. Now it’s just a waiting game for me.**

 

**Moma Blair: You actually straight up gave him your number? I’m impressed!**

 

**Deano: Oh shush. -////- :P**

 

**Moma Blair: XD You know I’m just teasing. So he hasn’t contacted you yet?**

 

**Deano: Nope. Nothing yet.**

 

Almost immediately after hitting send her phone buzzed, notifying her of a call from an unknown number. She brightened up and hit the green accept button. On the other end of the line she heard someone shuffling around then a somewhat gruff voice she recognized. “Hello? Is this Amber..?”

 

She held back a grin, wanting to be sure it was the right person. “Yes, is this James?”

 

More shuffling then a somewhat tentative sounding “Yes..”

 

She grinned outright at this point. “Hi! How are you?”

 

“Not bad. You?”

 

She sighed a little, rubbing her eyes behind her glasses. “My boss was a jerk like normal, but I still have a job this month so that’s good.” 

 

After a bit of silence she spoke up again. “So did you find a place to stay tonight?”

 

He stayed quiet for a second. “Uh, yeah. I’ll be fine.”

 

She frowned a little bit. “Because I know we just met today and all, but you seem like a really nice guy and I wouldn’t want you to have to sleep on the street or in a shelter or something like that if I can help it.”

 

Again he got quiet, seeming to be mentally arguing with himself for a minute before he sighed softly. “I guess.. Alright…”

 

She beams. “Ok! I’ll just text you my address and-”

 

“Text?” She can hear genuine confusion in his voice, making her eyebrows furrow. 

 

“Yeah, text. Can your phone not do that?”

 

“Well, I’m at a payphone right now so… No?” 

 

“Oh. Well, do you have something to write with?”

 

“Uh,” She heard faint shuffling again. “Yeah.”

 

She quickly rattled off her address, listening closely as he read it back.

 

“Sounds good. So, see you soon?”

 

“Maybe not soon, but tonight.” She heard more shuffling and a soft curse before he talked again, voice much quieter than before. “I have to go. See you later. Bye.” 

 

Before she could say anything in return there was a click and he was gone, leaving her staring at her phone with wide eyes, mentally reeling. 

 

Over the course of the phone call a few text messages had racked up from Blair, which she checked quickly.

 

**Moma Blair: Well let me know what happens, alright?**

 

**Moma Blair: Amber?**

 

**Moma Blair: Hello??**

 

She responded quickly, fingers flying over the little touchscreen.

 

**Deano: Sorry! He called like, right after my last message.**

 

**Moma Blair: And??? :D**

 

**Deano: He… Might be coming over…**

 

A second later her phone buzzed again, Blair’s picture glowing bright on screen. Amber laughed and rolled her eyes fondly before answering, holding her phone away from her ear so she didn’t go deaf when her friend screeched, “WHAT?!”

 

“Can you not read? He’s coming over.”

 

“How the hell did that happen??”

 

“Well if you’d calm down I’d tell you.”

 

She heard Blair take a deep breath, blowing it out slowly before she responded. “Alright. I’m calm. Now details.”

 

“So you know how I said we talked at the coffee shop?”

 

“Yeah.”

“Well, one of the things that we talked about was that he didn’t really have a place to stay cuz he’s new in town. Well, not really  _ new _ , apparently, but it’s his first time back in a long time which I don’t really get because he doesn’t even look that old but-”

 

“Amber. Point.”

 

“Right! So when he called pretty much the first thing I asked is if he had a place to stay for the night and he didn’t really say so I kinda just… Offered to let him stay the night.”

 

“... Well for your sake I hope he’s not some psycho. Course, if he is, maybe you could finally meet one of those superheroes you’re always writing about.”

 

Amber could hear the grin in her friend’s voice and couldn’t help but blush a little. “It’s my job! People like hearing about them and their stories!”

 

“Suuuuure.” She snickered. 

 

“Oh, shut up.” Amber huffs, cheeks still pink. 

 

“Just be careful with this guy tonight, ok? He may seem like a nice guy but that doesn’t mean he is.”

 

Amber rolls her eyes fondly. “Yes mom. I’ll be careful”

 

“You better. Ok, I actually have to go. Mom asked me to come over and help her with some stuff around the house.” 

 

“Alright. Talk to you later. I love you!”

 

“I love you too! Bye!”

 

With that she hung up, leaving Amber to the emptiness of her apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

It didn’t take Amber near as long as she thought it would to clean her apartment to her personal guest standards. A few hours after her phone call with Blair she was sat in her futon in working clothes that amounted to a ratty tank top and cargo shorts, looking around with a self satisfied smile. It didn’t last long though as she looked down at her dust and general grime covered self with a slight wrinkle to her nose. After a moment of thought she nodded. “Shower time.”

 

A few minutes later she was in her bathroom, clean clothes in one hand and her phone, already pulled up to one of her shower playlists, in the other. She took her time with her shower, thoroughly washing her hair and body as she sang along to her music. Once she got out she threw on her fuzzy Star Wars pj pants and a dark green tank top before grabbing a book she’d read too many times but loved every time, leaving her music playing as she headed back to her futon to wait.

 

She didn’t notice as the day dragged on into night until her stomach rumbled, reminding her that food was indeed a thing she needed. She paused her reading to make herself some chicken nuggets in her toaster oven and watch a YouTube video or two before cleaning up and getting back into her book. As the night crept later she made herself a cup of tea, about half way done with her book at this point.

 

By midnight her cup was empty, her book was done and she was antsy. She knew James hadn’t said exactly when he would be there, but she didn’t think it would be this late. She debated starting another book but decided against it, knowing she wouldn’t be able to focus properly at this point. Instead she grabbed her laptop and pulled up Pinterest, just to have something to do. She also changed her music playlist, having heard the same one at least three time in a row at this point. She did lower the volume a slight bit, not wanting to disturb her neighbors though she knew that the speakers of her phone couldn’t be heard from a different room, yet alone another apartment.

 

A little over an hour later she heard a sharp knock on the door that caused her to jump and squeak. She closed her laptop and set it back on her coffee table before turning off her music, slowly getting up and heading to the door. She got up on her tiptoes to look through the peephole, eyes widening slightly as she unlocked and threw open the door. “James?!”

 

He looked like hell to say the least. His hair was tangled and matted with dirt and what looked like blood, his split lip dripping down his chin. Without hesitation, without taking note of anything else, she pulled him into her apartment and locked the door behind him. “What happened to you?! Oh my god. Go sit on the couch, I-I’m gonna grab my first aid kit.”

 

Only after making sure he was sat down did she run to the bathroom and grab the small white box from under her sink. She was quick to return to her guest, this time taking a better look at him to more properly asses the damage. Only now did she notice the cut on his forehead slowly dripping blood in his eye, the swollen purpling bruise on his cheek, the rips in his shirt and pants, more cuts and scrapes showing underneath, the half dried blood on his boots. Only now did she notice that his jacket and gloves were gone, his short sleeve shirt showing off one bruised and bloodied arm and one wickedly bright metal one. Her eyes widened in realization, gripping the first aid box tighter. “You’re… You’re the guy… From DC last month… You fought Captain America…”

 

He kept his head down, purposefully not looking at her, fists clenched. His voice was tight but controlled, if slightly scratchy, though she didn’t know if it was from disuse or from the fight he was clearly in. “And..?”

 

She shifted slightly closer, cautious but not as scared as she probably should have been. “That’s why I recognized your name earlier. At the coffee shop. You’re Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes.”

 

He looked up at her, blue eyes locked on brown. “Is that a good or a bad thing. That you know who I am.”

 

She shifted from side to side slightly but didn’t drop her gaze, something that surprised her probably more than it did him. “I’m not completely sure yet. But first thing’s first you’re bleeding a lot and you look like hell so you have two options. Shower then let me patch you up or let me patch you up then shower. Showering first is probably the smarter option though. Either way, both of those are happening. Then I’m gonna make you some food because I have a feeling you haven’t eaten anything in a while, and after that we’re gonna talk.”

 

He quirked an eyebrow, a ghost of a smile on his face. “You sound really sure of yourself. What makes you think I’ll agree.”

 

“Well I don’t know about you, but if I had a bloody face and general grossness everywhere and had obviously just been in some kinda fight, I’d want a nice hot shower and someone to help me not feel like hell. And food’s always good. You’re under no obligation to tell me what happened though. But if you’re gonna sleep on my futon I’d rather not have to worry about whether people are gonna try to break in and get you or not.”

 

“You’re gonna let me stay?” He looked genuinely confused, eyebrows furrowed and head tilted to the side slightly, and in that moment she wondered how anyone could find this man intimidating.

 

“Well, I’m not just gonna throw you out. At this point it’d just be cruel.” She answered with a small smile.

 

“It’d be smart.” He grumbled but surprisingly didn’t protest any farther, getting up with a sight wince she didn’t miss. “Where’s your bathroom then..?”

 

She stared for a second, seeming lost in thought for a second before snapping out of it with a slight blush on her cheeks. “Oh, uh. Right down that little hallway. The door at the very end. And I can grab some clean clothes for you too, since those look kinda wrecked. Pants’ll probably be kinda short cuz you’re substantially taller than me, but I should have more than enough shirts that’ll fit you.”

 

He nodded and headed that way, hesitating outside the door for a second before turning his head to face her. “Thanks. By the way.”

 

“Um. No problem.”

 

He gave another small nod before heading in the bathroom and closing the door with a soft snap. She heard the click of the lock being turned and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, her shoulders slumping slightly. Without a second thought she plopped on the ground, staring at the bathroom door, first aid box still in her hand. She spoke quietly and to no one in particular. “Ok. Ok. The Winter Soldier is in my bathroom. Using my shower. And is gonna be wearing my clothes. … Fuck, my life went from zero to a hundred  _ real _ quick.”

 

With a calming breath and a second to think about her life choices, she got up, setting the first aid kit on the coffee table. She walked back to her bedroom, glancing at the bathroom door and smiling once she heard the shower running, before heading to her dresser. She took a couple minutes to pick out clothes for him, eventually settling on a pair of black Hufflepuff pants that were a bit big on her anyways, one of the five pairs of boxers she had on hand because they were super comfy on hot nights or any night with cleanly shaven legs, and an extra large Georgia Bulldogs shirt she swam in, not doubting it would be big on him too. After folding it all up she set them outside the bathroom door with  _ Clothes for you! :) _ written on a blue sticky note before heading back to the futon to wait.

 

A few minutes later she heard the shower shut off and the curtain open. She stayed in her spot though, checking a few things on her phone even as she heard the door open. She smiled a little when she heard the door close again, assuming he was back inside the bathroom getting dressed. She didn’t expect a shadow to fall over her, leading her to look up at a mostly undressed and very unsure looking Bucky Barnes.

 

Her eyes widened and her cheeks went pink, unable to resist looking over his body, both to take in his injuries and to just look. There was no denying he was very attractive, but the amount of bruises and still sluggishly bleeding cuts did slightly dampen that effect.

 

“I uh. Didn’t think there was much of a point. Putting on clean clothes just to bleed on them.” He shifted a little, holding the shirt and pants in his hands.

 

She nodded, getting up slowly. “That. That’s fair. Well, um. In that case, sit. And I’ll uh. Get started.”

 

He nodded stiffly and complied, sitting on the very edge of the futon as she fiddled with the first aid kit she was suddenly doubting had everything she needed. “Did you rinse your cuts off?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“And wash your hair?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Ok. Lemme grab something real quick so we don’t have to worry about your hair dripping everywhere while I’m doing this.” With a quick, cautious smile back at him she headed back to her bathroom, coming back with a light blue hair towel.

 

“Do you know how to… No. These were probably after..” He quirked an eyebrow up at her but didn’t speak up. “Nevermind. Can you turn a bit to the side? I can do it up for you.”

 

He nodded, turning himself slightly more towards the door. She didn’t miss how every muscle in his back tensed as she approached, nor how he involuntarily sucked in a breath through his teeth when her fingertips grazed his neck. Her hands were soft from the nearly excessive amounts of lotion she used on a daily basis and gentle in their movements, combing the hair back from his neck. She set the towel on the crown of his head, gathering the hair underneath into the tail, careful to not pull as she twisted it and fastened the small elastic loop to the button on top.

 

She backed up with a smile. “Alright, hair is dealt with for now. Next,” She motioned vaguely to the rest of his body. “All of that.”

 

He turned back to face her properly, keeping his head down. After grabbing a few things from the first aid kit she knelt in front of him and went to work, cleaning and covering the cuts and scrapes on his torso first, seeing as that was where most of the damage seemed to be centralized. They stayed silent as she worked, her focused on her task and him avoiding looking at her. Once she moved on to his arm she frowned, eyeing a long cut down his bicep. She bit her lip as she carefully cleaned it out, her voice soft, trying not to break the atmosphere in the room. “... What happened to you James?”

 

His eyes were locked on the floor and he hesitated for a minute as she cleaned out the cut, debating whether or not to answer. He closed his eyes as he decided, barely a mumble passing his lips. “Got in a fight…”

 

She sighed as she covered the cut with a large portion of gauze, noticing her supply was quickly running short. “Why do I feel like that’s not the full answer?” She looked up to his still closed eyes, dropping her hands to her sides. “Look, I know the last like, seventy years has probably been really shit for you but I don’t wanna hurt you. I want to help. You’re under no obligation to tell me, and if you really want we can continue with no further questions about what happened, but if you’re comfortable with it I feel like it might help.”

 

He looked up at her briefly, seeming to be searching her gaze for something before looking down again, shaking his head.

 

She nodded slowly, looking back at his arm. “Alright, then I’ll stop.” And she did. She cleaned and bandaged the rest of the cuts on his arm, wrapping most of his bruised and bloodied hand, then moved on to the few cuts on his leg. She noticed those seemed to be deeper though, requiring more time to properly clean them as well as more gauze. Finally she moved on to the gash on his forehead, carefully getting the blood off his face and disinfecting the wound before covering it with the last bit of gauze she had available, making sure it stayed in place with medical tape.

 

Without a word she stood and headed to her small kitchen, starting a pot of water on the stove. She heard the futon creak as he stood as well, presumably to finally get dressed, then another creak as he sat back down. Glancing at the clock set in the stove, she didn’t know whether to be shocked or not when it read almost two in the morning, simply sighing softly. It wasn’t like she was unused to staying up that late, she actually did quite often but she almost never made food that late. Especially not for someone else.

 

Other than the sounds of her cooking, the apartment was silent. At this point it seemed the whole building was silent, a rare thing indeed. She could still hear the quiet rumble of the city outside though, and had to admit, it was a small comfort.

 

She’d always heard that New York was the City That Never Sleeps, but she didn’t quite believe it until she was there. At first it had been slightly annoying, but her need for background noise and hatred of silence in general quickly helped her adapt and even come to love the constant hustle and bustle. She wondered, as she stirred the pasta into the now boiling water, if it has always been like that. If it had been like that when he grew up there.

 

She almost turned to ask, but decided against it. She’d read a lot about Bucky in her superhero research, but that had been before. Before last month. Before Natasha Romanov, the infamous Black Widow, dumped all of the Shield and Hydra’s information on the web. Before the world knew of the existence of the Winter Soldier. She had yet to read up on all of that information, what with other projects both work and personal, not to mention trying to find the proper websites with all the correct information, something that was harder than you’d think. All she knew about was the old Bucky Barnes. Captain America’s best friend from childhood. As she drained the pasta in the sink, she made a silent decision. She was going to learn about this new Bucky Barnes. The one that sat in her living room, waiting patiently for food he never asked for but needed nonetheless, wounds cleaned by her own hands, and in her pajamas.

 

With a self satisfied smile she poured the noodles into one of the few bowls in her little apartment, gathering some simple things that might add to the taste if he so chose along with a fork before going back to her living room. She set it all down on the coffee table, the small clank of the bowl making him jolt slightly. She took notice and backed away once everything was set down, sitting on her small, squashy blue bean bag chair on the other side of the table before speaking up. “I uh. I didn’t know how you’d want it and I don’t have any pasta sauce on hand so I just brought out what I use. Butter, parmesan, garlic and onion powder. You’re free to use whatever.

 

He nodded a little with a mumbled thanks before tentatively reaching for the bowl. After a few seconds of contemplating he reached for the butter, slicing a chunk with his fork and dropping it in the bowl, grabbing the garlic and onion powder as he mixed and melted the butter.

 

She watched his metal arm the whole time, fascinated with how it looked and worked. It was very well crafted from what she could tell, working as smoothly and fluidly as a real arm. She’d tried to keep her eyes off of it while she had been patching him up, not wanting to get distracted, but now there was no real reason she couldn’t look. She probably shouldn’t and in her head she knew that, but a different part of her brain told her if he asked her to stop she would, however in the meantime there was no harm in it.

 

The two were quiet for a while, him eating and her trying not to stare too intensely. He noticed though, of course he noticed, not that she was hiding it. He didn’t say anything until he was done with his food, keeping his eyes down and focused on his now empty bowl. “... You could be a little more subtle.”

 

Her cheeks went pink, turning her gaze down to stare at the carpet. “Sorry, it’s just.. Cool…”

 

He looked over at her at the same time she looked back up at him, their eyes locking together. She could see the confusion in those icy blue eyes and hoped he could see the sincerity in her own. Before she could stop herself she started talking again, her brain working faster than her mouth and her usual filter nonexistent. “I mean, I’ve seen it on the news and in pictures and stuff, and I’ve read about it a bit, but seeing it in person is a whole different thing ya know? Like, I can almost see how it works and stuff it’s just really interesting to see it move and  _ do _ things. Can you actually, ya know, feel stuff with it?”

 

Her eyes were wide with the curiosity of someone much younger than herself and he felt a barely noticeable, but involuntary blush creep on his cheeks as he nodded. She couldn’t help the grin that came on her face, creeping a bit closer to get a better look. “Really?”

 

He nodded again, more confidently this time, looking down at the arm in question, his voice still below an average speaking volume but louder than it had been pretty much the entire time he’d been there. “It’s kind of weird. I know when I’m touching stuff and can tell how hard or soft the surface is, but I can’t tell textures or anything like that.”

 

She slowly but surely moved to his side, though still on the floor as she looked between his eyes and the arm. “Do you mind if I..?”

 

She left the question open ended, locking her eyes back on his in hesitant anticipation. He stared at her with an emotion she couldn’t place for a minute, maybe more, neither were sure, before nodding slowly. Her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas, moving to sit next to him on the futon.

 

She looked at him again, to make sure he was ok with this, before lightly touching the top of his metal hand. She jolted slightly at first, expecting it to be cold. Instead it was more on the warm side, prompting her to splay her hand on top of his. She turned his hand over, running her fingertips over the grooves and plains of the metal.  She skimmed her hand up his forearm, resting it on his bicep before speaking up again. “So can you only feel on your hand on can you feel this too?”

 

“It’s weird. I can see it so I know it’s there. And I can kind of feel the pressure. But that’s about it.” He watched her warily as she gently manipulated the joints, leaning in closer at points to try and see the mechanics better. She pushed her glasses up with the back of her hand distractedly, a slightly awestruck smile on her face.

 

After a few minutes she looked up at him still smiling before realizing what she had been doing. She blushed a deep pink, looking away quickly and letting his arm drop into the space between them. “Sorry, that was probably weird for you. It’s just really cool to look at and try to see how it works. I mean, I’m not an engineer by any means, I’m actually an author in the making assuming everything I’m hoping for works out, so I have no idea how any of what’s in there works, but it’s just really cool to see it all working and flowing, perfectly in sync.”

 

He stared down at her questioningly before just shaking his head. “It’s. It’s fine.”

 

She shuffled distractedly at his side, not quite looking at him before speaking up again. “So um. Did you get enough to eat or do you need more? Cuz I don't mind making more. I've got other stuff too, if you wanna look around. I just went with what I'd want in your situation.” 

 

He shook his head, opening his mouth to say something before his stomach cut him off with a soft grumble. His face went noticeably pink and she held back a laugh for as long as she could before busting into a fit of giggles, covering her face with her hands. “Oh my god that was perfect timing.” 

 

Still giggling, she got up and went back to her kitchen. “I'm just gonna get you some chips to munch on. So that doesn't happen again.” 

 

She giggled a bit harder, looking through her cabinets before coming back with a half empty bag of Cheeto Puffs. She handed the bag to him, grin very much still in place. His cheeks still flushed, he took the bag with a mumbled thank you before taking one out, his face scrunching in confusion. “Um. What?” 

 

“They're Cheeto Puffs.”

 

“What the hell is a Cheeto Puff.”

 

“Delicious is what it is. Just try it.” She plopped next to him on the futon, grabbing one for herself and popping it her mouth with a happy hum. 

 

He eyed it and her suspiciously as she continued to pop the little orange curls in her mouth. She chuckled a little bumping his shoulder gently with her own, more to not hurt herself on the metal than anything. “C'mon. It's not gonna hurt you. You trust me, right?”

 

The sentence came out so naturally he didn't really know how to respond. Did he trust her? This girl he'd only met hours beforehand, but in those hours had been kinder to him than anyone had in almost 70 years? He didn't even know if he had the ability to trust properly anymore, in himself or others, but despite that... He wanted to say yes. In some bizarre way. Instead of actually answering, he took one of the orange puffs from the bag, still not sure about it, before popping it in his mouth. 

 

His eyes widened at the flavor before it slowly seemed to melt away on his tongue. He crunched it, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. None of this stopped him from grabbing another before he even completely finished the first. 

 

Amber couldn't help it. She giggled. A lot. She covered her mouth with her hands as it poured out of her, curling into herself to try and contain it somewhat but failing miserably. 

 

His cheeks went pink and he resisted the urge to cross his arms over his chest defensively. He couldn't keep the slight edge of embarrassment out of his voice though. “What??”

 

She shook her head, waving him off for a second before trying to talk through her giggles. “I'm sorry I'm sorry that was just adorable! Like a little kid or a puppy or something!”

 

Now he was really confused. His eyebrows drew together tight, a small frown on his face. “You said you know who I am right? Or, who I was?” 

 

“Yes?” Her giggles had calmed slightly, leaving her a bit out of breath but smiling through it.

 

“Are you sure you were talking to me then?”

 

“Uh, yeah? There's no one else I could have been talking to.” 

 

He looked even more confused by her lightly teasing tone. It had been years since he’d heard anything like it, and even then almost never from a girl. But then his mind flashed backwards again, and he saw her, sitting across from him at what seemed to be some sort of club. There was music playing softly in the background, but nothing he could easily recognize, not that that’s what had his attention in the first place. All he really noticed was her. Her dark brown curls in a intricately done half up do, this time in a red sweater, a small smirk on her face. 

 

_ “C’mon Barnes, is that the best you can come up with? Wow, didn’t realize Steve was talking you up  _ that _ much.” _

 

He felt his past self grin and lean in closer to her, his voice barely heard over the music, despite it’s low volume.  _ “Well sweetheart, guess I’ll have to prove you wrong there.” _

 

He heard her giggle and saw her eyes light up, felt her hand on top of his on the table. She opened her mouth to say something else but before it came out he snapped back to the present, clutching his head in his hands with a soft hiss of pain, just like the first time.

 

Amber recoiled back from him, her eyes wide. She went to set a hand on his shoulder but thought better of it, remembering the last time she’d tried something similar. She subconsiously rubbed her wrist at the thought, biting her lip nervously as she waited for him to come out of whatever it was.

 

Slowly, too slowly in her opinion, he calmed down. His breathing returned to normal, his fingers relaxed on his scalp, though she swore she could see little spots of blood now dotting the fabric of her hair towel from where he was clutching it with his metal arm. After another minute, making sure he was actually calmed down she spoke up softly. “James..?”

 

He didn’t respond, but she persisted. “James what was that?”

 

He sighed and his head dropped a little further. “... I don’t know.”

 

“James…”

 

“Honestly, Amber I have no idea. That’s only the second time it’s happened.”

 

“ _ What _ happened?”  

 

He looked up at her and saw genuine concern on her face. Not for the first time he wondered why she cared so much about a man she’d just met. A man she now knew was responsible for innumerable deaths and for fighting and gravely wounding a hero she clearly respected a lot. And not for the first time he wondered why he wanted to tell her so bad. Why he wanted to let her in, even if it was just a bit. He sighed and looked down again, voice low and uncertain. 

 

“I… I think it’s my past. Or bits of it at least. Nothing major. Nothing important. Just. This girl. I don’t even remember her name. But I saw her both times.”

 

Her eyes lit up at the fact that he was talking to her, keeping her focus on his face as her thoughts went a mile a minute. 

 

“What  _ do _ you remember about her?” She prodded gently,

 

His gaze was still focused on the carpet, the fingers on his left hand starting to drum on his leg, something she guessed was an old nervous habit he was beginning to pick back up. “... She was short. Maybe a little taller than you. Dark curly hair. Super curly. She never let it all the way down.”

 

He got quiet again, as if unsure what else to say before speaking up one last time, his voice barely a whisper. “She always wore red. Always.”

 

Things went silent for a minute, maybe two, before she realized he really was done this time. “Is that all you remember?”

 

Another heavy sign, telling her this was still difficult for him. “Confidently, yes. There’s other stuff, but I don’t remember what’s real and what isn’t.”

 

She nodded. “Well, not that I really know anything about it from real life experiences, but I feel like that’s to be expected. After, ya know, 70 years of having your head fucked with.”

 

Again things got quiet, but this time she didn’t know what to do about it. She casually checked her phone to see the time, suppressing a groan when she saw it was nearly 4:30 in the morning. “Ok, it is  _ way  _ later than I thought it was and while I don’t have to get up early tomorrow I do still have to get up so I’m going to bed. I can pull the futon out for you before I do though so you don’t have to squeeze onto it while it’s still all couchy.”

 

She stood up with a stretch before motioning for him to get up. He looked slightly confused as he did so. He watched her with interest as she started pulling at the bottom part of the couch, eyes widening as the whole thing moved up before flattening out into a bed. Before she did anything else she put up the Cheeto Puffs, wiping away any crumbs that got left on the surface. She rearranged the pillows so they were both at one end before saying something about blankets and hurrying off to one of the closets. She came back with a big blue one that looked soft, handing it over to him. “Ok, that should be plenty big enough for you. You need anything before I go to bed?”

 

He shook his head slightly, still staring confused at the futon. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion as well, looking it over to see if there was anything wrong with it. “What? Is there a stain or something?” 

 

“No, it’s just… How did it do that?”

 

“What?”

 

“How did it go from a couch to a bed?”

 

“It’s a futon. That’s just what they do.” She held back an amused smile at the slight distrust still in his eyes.

 

“It’s not gonna close up on me in my sleep, is it?”

 

She couldn’t help but giggle at that, shaking her head. “No, it won’t go back to couch mode without someone physically putting it there. You’ll be fine.”

 

He nodded slightly, looking down at the blanket in his hands. “... Thank you.”

 

She didn’t know exactly what he was thanking her for, she was only doing what any decent person would do, but she smiled anyways. “No problem.”

 

She yawned big and stretched her arms above her, ending with a small squeak as they flopped back to her sides. “Well, I’m going to bed. If you need anything my room is the second door on the right. It should be open, I can’t sleep with it closed. You know where the bathroom is, and if you need more blankets they’re in the closet on the left side of the hall. There might be some in the one on the right, but I don’t think so.” 

 

He nodded before sitting down on the edge of the futon. She shifted awkwardly for a moment before nodding herself. “Alright well.. Goodnight James.”

 

She was almost back to her bedroom before she heard him speak. “... Bucky. Call me Bucky.” 

 

She smiled, voice soft, but sure he could hear her. “Goodnight Bucky.”

 

“Goodnight Amber.”

 

With that she went in her room, crawling under her covers with a content smile on her face. As she drifted to sleep she couldn’t help but think that this had, by far, been one of the strangest nights of her life, but something told her she wouldn’t be able to say that for long. Not with the man who had dropped into her life. 

 

She woke up the next day around noon, later than she usually woke up but given her late night it wasn’t surprising. She stretched with a contented hum before sliding out of bed and starting her morning routine as quietly as possible. By the time she made it back out to the living room to check on her guest she was plenty awake, though she knew a cup of tea would do good to keep her that way. 

 

As she walked in the room her gaze immediately went to the futon, disappointed but not entirely surprised that he was gone. The clothes she let him borrow were folded up on the futon as well as the blanket he’d used and the hair towel, which, as she’d suspected the night before, did have a few spots of blood on it now. She couldn’t help the small smile that appeared as she spotted the blue sticky note on the shirt.

 

_ Figured I should give these back. Don’t know when I’ll be back. I’ll call before I do. Thanks again. -B _

 

**Hello my lovelies! So I want to start this off saying this story has been on fanfiction.net for going on three years and wattpad for about a year. I also want to say that I'm really really shitty about writing new chapters because life in your 20's is insane and anyone who tells you otherwise is a fucking liar. I do have the start of chapter 4 written, it's just getting the rest of it down. Hopefully I'll some time to write again soon, cuz we're finally getting into the real fun stuff! Anyways, if you haven't heard before,** **reviews and constructive criticism are more than welcomed but flames will be used to roast marshmallows and the souls of the damned. Until next time, bye bye! -KRS**


	4. Chapter 4

After fully coming to the realization that the day before had actually happened, Amber went through the rest of her day in a sort of blur. She was relieved it was a Friday though, meaning all she needed to do was pop by the Bugle to do some work on site. It was something that only happened once a week, if that, but it was enough for her to almost consider it a real job. Granted it  _ was _ technically her job, but her and everyone else that worked there knew it was only because of how popular her articles were and how frequently she was able to get them out. She was technically a freelance writer, meaning she shouldn’t have gotten near as much money per article as she did, but even Jameson couldn’t deny how much numbers for both the paper and the blog had spiked since she started. It was something she was honestly grateful for every day. She knew the realities of living in New York and that she was extremely lucky to afford her little apartment.

 

She only ended up stay until around 6. Not quite a full work day but enough to fill her quota for the pay period. She got up from her desk, looking around fondly at her little corner. She had all sorts of little trinkets on it along with a bunch of superhero articles, some framed ones even dating all the way back to the forties. As she went to leave she saw the usual sneers from the rest of the office, except for Jameson’s secretary who gave her a small smile.Amber gave a tentative smile in return before letting her head drop to avoid the stares, She knew she wasn’t liked, she dealt with it every time she came in, but it didn’t make it any easier.

 

Once she was out she gave a sigh of relief, the tension in her body immediately released. She made a decision right them that she was going to have a drink. Because god dammit it had been a weird 24 hours and she needed a distraction. Besides, she didn’t  _ have _ to do anything the next day if she didn’t want to. With decisive nod she headed in the direction of her favorite bar. Luckily it wasn’t too far from the Bugle and in a few minutes she was smiling up at the slightly faded lettering above The Bar. She threw the door open, her face lighting up even more as she saw the bartender and owner behind the thankfully empty bar. “Honey, I’m home!”

 

Jace Cardwell couldn’t help but smile at the younger girl’s enthusiasm as she plopped down at her regular seat towards the back of the bar. “Hey sweetheart. Long week?” 

 

She sighed and nodded as he slid her normal drink down to her. “Fuckin  _ weird _ week dude.”

 

He quirked an eyebrow. “What kinda weird?”

 

She took a long sip, eyes closing in delight before shaking her head. “I dunno man. Weird weird. Don’t think I can really talk about it.”

 

At that both eyebrows rose, genuine concern on his face. “Damn girl, whatchu gettin yourself into? Toldja all that superhero shit would get you into some trouble.”

 

She grinned and shrugged, not seeming anywhere near as concerned as he thought she should be. “Always new that was a risk. Risk I’m willing to take though, if I get a good story out of it.”

 

He shook his head as the bell above the door chimed, signaling the arrival of more people. “Gonna get yourself killed onea these days girl. Then you’re gonna be the one in those articles you write.”

 

She laughed easily, waving him off. “Nah, I’m gonna live forever Jacey.”

 

He shook his head again with a small smile before he started helping the new arrivals. He didn’t get to talk to her much after that, seeing as the later it got the more people showed up. She didn’t particularly mind though. It meant she got more time to just sit and think, taking periodic sips from her drink as she did.

 

The later it got the more people filed in the room and subsequently the luder it got. She didn’t mind it too much, especially now that she was a couple drinks in and feeling slightly tipsy. She knew if she had much more she’d fall over the line into drunk and as tempting as that sounded, she knew he needed to be able to get home safely and  _ really _ didn’t want to know how expensive an Uber would be this time of night.

 

As soon as she was able to get his attention she got an Ice water and her tab from Jace, who handed both over with a concerned shake of his head. She got up to run to the bathroom real quick before she started heading home, but before she could get very far someone grabbed her arm.

 

“Where ya goin gorgeous?~” Dark, leering eyes looked her up and down as he licked his chapped lips, greasy bleached blonde hair falling in his face. 

 

“Tryina go piss so if you could let me go that’d be great,” She snarked, trying to pull her arm from his grasp.

 

He held on tighter and pulled her closer, smirking down at her. “Well let me walk ya over there beautiful. Wouldn’t want ya gettin hurt or nothin.” He had the gall to wink at her, making her skin crawl.

 

Again she tried to rip her arm away to no avail, panic starting to crawl up her throat. “No I’m fine, I’ve been here enough times I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

 

She looked over at the bar, trying to catch Jace’s attention, but he was caught up with another customer facing the other end of the bar from her. She hoped the man holding her couldn’t see how scared she was getting, but she couldn’t help how her body started to tremble.

 

“Please just let me go. I don’t want to go with you,” she whimpered.

 

“Suck it up sweetheart. I’m not lettin a pretty little thing like you go any time soon.”

 

Truly panicking now and on the verge of tears she tried weakly to pull her arm away but he gripped her to the point of pain and started dragging her in the opposite direction, towards the exit.

 

“There we go. Now be a good girl, stay quiet, and this’ll all be over soon,” he murmured in her ear as a couple tears slipped down her cheeks.

 

Before she could even think about making a scene to try and scare the guy off, a large shadow loomed over the two of them. “The lady said she didn’t want to go. Back off before I make you.”

 

She looked up in shook, tears still falling, as she saw the angry face of one Steve Rogers. The man holding her was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid as he glared up at the man who literally fought Nazi’s and tugged her closer. “And why the fuck should I listen to you, pretty boy?!”

 

Rather than respond with words, Steve picked the guy up by his shirt collar and pushed him up against the wall, the shock of it all making him let her go. She stumbled away from him and his behind Steve, subconsciously grabbing the back of his shirt.

 

At the sound of the thump of him hitting the wall everyone in the vicinity stopped to stare wide eyed at actual Captian America, in plain clothes, holding some random scumbag against a wall while a very distressed looking woman hid behind him. A lady from the crowd gently pulled her to the side to ask if she was ok, wiping her tears away with her jacker sleve. SHe nodded but her eyes were still locked on Steve, wide and in shock.

 

“You should leave her alone because if you don’t I’m gonna throw you through this wall.” Steve sneered, eyes flashing dangerously.

 

The man barked out a laugh, not seeming near as scared of that threat as he should’ve been. “Oh yeah, America’s Golden Boy’s gonna throw me through a fucking wall cuz I was tryina get some. I’ll believe it when I-” 

 

Before he could finish his taunt, Steve delivered on his promise. Before anyone really knew what was going on there was a hole where the man had been and he was now against the alley wall of the building next door, head bleeding sluggishly. Steve calmly stepped through the hole, checked the man’s pulse, and nodded before pulling out a cellphone. The rest of the now silent bar looked on in a mutual state of shock as he reported the incident to 911 before hanging up. He walked back into the bar and headed straight for Amber, hunching down and trying to make his posture as non threatening as possible.

 

“Are you alright ma’am? I’m sorry if I scared you at all with all of that. I just saw the look on your face and couldn’t not do nothing about it.” His blue eyes were soft and comforting, a small, almost sheepish smile on his face. After all the fear and terror that had been welling inside her, that simple act of genuine kindness was all it took for her flood of tears to release.

 

She surged forward into his chest, sobbing so hard her body shook. He held onto her gently, trying to lead her to a different corner of the bar away from prying eyes. Jace, who’d seen everything from the time the man initially got thrown against the wall onwards, waved to get his attention then pointed to a door that said “Management Only,” silently telling him it was ok to take her back there. Steve nodded in thanks before Jace called attention to himself in an attempt to get the rest of the patrons back to what they had been doing before.

 

As he guided her to the back room she still hadn’t stopped shaking, fighting a frown from his face. This wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this and he knew it wouldn’t be the last much to Tony’s chagrin, so he kinda knew how to hold himself after something like this had happened. Generally it was a better idea to keep himself looking more positive and that’s what he did, forcing a neutral expression on his face as he sat her down in a chair by a desk, brushing a few of her tears away.

 

“Hey, it’s ok. He can’t get you anymore. I promise. He’s going to the hospital right now and as soon as they release him I’m going to make sire he goes to jail for as long as they can put him away, ok?” He gave her a soft smile, hoping it would help calm her down, but it just seemed to make it worse.

 

She looked up at him, a panicked light still in her eyes, before whimpering. “That was just.. Really scary… I’ve never had something like that happen before… At least not as close of a call as that… Moving out here by myself wasn’t near as scary as that was…” She shook more violently, hugging her arms to herself to try and get some semblance of comfort as she stared at her lap. “I just felt so powerless.. Like there was nothing I could do without him hurting me worse…”

 

His eyebrows furrowed with concern. “He hurt you? Where?”

 

“Just.. Just where he grabbed my arm… Nowhere else…”

 

“Do you mind if I take a look? Just to see if it needs actual medical attention.” He smiled goodnaturedly and hsi tone was warm and sincere enough that she actually looked up at him with a week one of her own before hesitantly holding her arm out. 

 

Sure enough there was a large hand shaped bruise staining the skin on her right arm, dark enough that he could tell it hurt without even touching it. His insides boiled with rage but he kept his face impassive, not wanting to show it and possibly ruin the progress he’d made.

 

He held her hand between both of his and squeezed gently. “Well there’s no blood so that’s always a good sign. The best I could say is keep it covered up somehow, either just with clothes or actually wrapping it up. And some sort of painkiller would probably help too. Do you have something at home that you can take?”

 

She nodded slowly. “I always have ibuprofen at home. It’s kinda my go to if I have any sort of minor pain.”

 

“Alright.”

 

The back room went quiet but they heard the rumble of noise from the rest of the bar as the patrons got back to normal. While she had been calming down, her eyes suddenly swelled with tears again, the residual fear returning along with the reminder that her day had been completely flipped on its head. Her head dropped into her hands, sniffling softly.

 

Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. He hated this. Hated that even though he put the attack to a stop, he couldn’t make what happened any less terrifying for her, or help her get past this, no matter how much he wanted to. Tony always said they couldn’t just adopt any stray that came around, human or animal. A completely hypocritical statement on his part, because Steve knew about the boy in Tennessee that he helped out after the Battle of New York and that whole business with the Manderin, not to mention the stray cats that were always on the front steps of the Tower, yowling every time Tony passed by in an attempt to cute their way to more food, but that was another story. Looking at this girl, so broken and helpless looking, he knew he couldn’t just leave her like that. He knew he’d have hell to pay when he got home but he didn’t care. At this moment, this was more important. He’d explain to Tony later.

 

“Hey, I know after what happened this might be the last thing you want, but you mind if I escort you home? I just want to make sure you get there safe. You don’t need more reason to be upset tonight.”

 

It took her a minute before her breathing evened back out and her tears stopped. She took one more shaky breath before looking back up at him, eyes still glassy but less so than before. “You’d actually do that?”

 

“Absolutely. It would,t be right to let you go off alone at this point.” His easy, goodnatured smile was back and she couldn’t help but melt a little. She nodded slowly, fatigue from the night she’d had quickly settling in.

 

He nodded as well, getting up from his spot across from her. “Alright, I’ll go grab your stuff. There’s a back entrance here, right?”

 

She nodded again silently, slumping further in her chair as he left the room. When he got back to the main part of the bar everything was pretty much back to normal. Patrons were dancing and drinking and  generally having a good time, though they did give the hole in the wall a wide berth.

 

Jace saw Steve before he even got close to the counter, quickly saying something to the customer he’d been talking to before heading over to him. “How’s she doin?”

 

“Stressed. Tired. But she’ll be fine. She’s a fighter. I can tell.”

 

Jace smiled and nodded. “That’s Amber for ya. Yeah, She should be fine. Just a little shaken up for a bit I reckon. You takin her home?”

 

“Yes sir, that’s the plan. Just came out here to get her stuff and verify there’s a way out the back. She said there was, but didn’t tell me where.”

 

Jace nodded again as he grabbed her purse from under the bar, handing it over to him. “Yeah, it’s just through the kitchen. You shouldn’t have a problem gettin out.”

 

“Alright, thank you sir. I appreciate your help. And uh,” Steve looked over at the hole in the wall with an embarrassed smile, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m sorry about that. I just… Got a little carried away. We’ll get that fixed tomorrow. I’ll come back myself to make sure it gets done properly.”

 

Jace pointed a finger at him with a stern expression. “It better. Won’t be good business until it gets fixed.” The stern look broke a second later, turing back to a softer, more concerned one. “But right now just make sure she gets home safe. We can deal with all that tomorrow.”

 

“I couldn’t agree more sir. I’ll get her home, I promise. And I’ll see you tomorrow to help with repairs.” Steve held up a hand with a smile, silently saying goodbye to the older man.

 

“Yeah Ibetter see ya. Take care Captain.” Jace smiled as well, waving back.

 

“Take care.” With that Steve walked back into the back room, only to find Amber completely passed out in her chair. She was curled up with her head resting on the back of the chair, her arms in her lap, and her legs hanging off the arm. He sighed softly, not wanting to wake her up but also not wanting to root through her things to try and figure out her address. He thought briefly about popping back out to as the bartender, but shook his head.

 

With another sigh he shouldered her bag, making sure it was closed so as to not lose any of her stuff in the process before picking her up as gently as he could. Her head lolled against his chest as he walked through the back and outside into the chilly New York night. He walked back in the direction he’d come from with purpose, knowing he’s definitely have hell to pay in the morning but not particularly caring at the moment.

 

He grimaced slightly as he got closer to his destination, the Avengers tower a beacon of bright light in the late night sky. Before long he was in front of the automatic doors, walking towards the elevators without giving anyone a second glance. He, by some miracle that was probably the tower’s all seeing AI, didn’t even have to wait. As soon as he walked up a door opened to a thankfully empty elevator. 

 

“Jarvis, can you please get me to the common floor? And if Tony isn’t too busy can you ask him to meet me there? There might have been a slight problem while I was out.” Steve asked, shifting her in his arms slightly.

 

”Of course sir, but may I ask-”

“I promise I’ll explain, I just need a place to lay her down.”

 

There was a second of silence as the AI decided what was in the best interest of everyone before he responded, “Of course, sir.”

 

With that the elevator was in its way up, and before another minute had passed they were on the common floor. The door pinged open as Steve walked out, thankful that for once the rest of the team wasn’t there. He thanked Jarvis as he made a beeline for the couch, setting her down gently and placing her bag on the coffee table. It wasn’t long after that Tony walked in, covered in grease and sweat, clearly having been in his workshop.

 

“Steve what’s going on? Jarvis said-” He cut himself off abruptly as he came around the couch, seeing the young woman curled up on the cushions. “... Steve. What the fuck.”

 

“I can explain.”

 

“Well I damn well hope you can. There’s a strange woman passed out on our couch.” Tony stared him down, a hand on his hip and his eyebrow raised. Not mad, it was rare that he ever truly got mad at Steve anymore, but confused and more than a little concerned.

 

“Well, ya see,” Steve started off cautiously, not wanting to actually make the other man upset. “I was walking around earlier, ya know, getting more of a feel for all the new places and things that’ve changed, and I ended up in this little hole in the wall bar. It had good music and seemed like a nice place to get a drink and take a seat for abit so I did. At least until I saw this guy grab her by the arm. At first I thought they were friends or something, just joking around, until I saw the look on her face. Tony she was terrified. I couldn’t just sit there after that.”

 

Tony rolled his eyes with a slightly exaggerated sigh. “So you played hero. Again.”

 

Steve winced slightly at the other man’s tone before nodding. “Of course I did. But the guy didn’t want to back down so I… Kinda didn’t give him a choice.” He looked down sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“What’d you do.”

 

“I um… He looked away, clearly embarrassed about his slight overreaction. Tony just stared him down, not letting his eyes drop from Steve’s until he looked back at him. The blond did so reluctantly, blue meeting warm brown, before speaking up slowly. “I might’ve thrown him through the wall…”

Tony stared at him for a second before looking down, closing his eyes, and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me I didn’t just hear what I think I heard. Please tell me you didn’t throw some random civilian through a wall because a girl looked scared when it could’ve been something else entirely.”

 

“Tony it wasn’t. Look at her arm. She has his goddamn  _ handprint _ bruised on her. I’ll admit throwing him through the wall was an overreaction but I stand by what I did. And I already apologized to the owner of the bar and told him I’d make sure it all gets fixed. Everything’s fine.” The look in his eyes told Tony he wasn’t going to get a different reaction out of him for what had happened, but he didn’t really expect anything less.

 

“Well if it’s all fine then why is she on our couch and not at home recovering from it all?”

 

“I tried to take her home but in the time it took me to get her stuff from the bartender and apologize she was passed out in the back room where I’d left her. I didn’t want to look through her stu or go back out and ask the bartender so I figured the next best option was to bring her here. At least here she’ll be safe. And I can take her home in the morning. She just needs a room for the night.” 

 

The two men had a small staredown after that silently trying to decide what they were going to do about this situation, until they heard a soft sound from the couch. They both looked over to see her mumble softly in her sleep, eyebrows drawn together as she shifted slightly. Tony watched silently, cursing himself mentally as he felt his resolve weakening. She shifted again with another little grumble, turning over to face the back of the couch and it broke completely. 

 

With a heavy sigh his head dropped slightly before looking back at Steve and the soft look in his eyes. “... Fine. You can take her to one of the guest rooms. As long as you get her home in the morning.”

 

“I will Tony, I promise.” The blond beamed, giving the shorter man a hug before going to pick her up. 

 

“You owe me for this Rogers.” Tony teased, smiling fondly at him as he headed towards the guest rooms, her bag over his shoulder again.

 

“I know, I know. How many times do I owe you now?” Steve grinned.

 

“Quite a few and I intend on collecting soon.” 

 

Steve laughed softly, trying not to wake her up. “I’ll be to bed soon. Get washed up before you actually get in bed. I just did laundry and don’t want grease and oil in the bed already.”

 

Tony stuck his tongue out with a chuckle of his own. “Yeah yeah yeah. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

 

With that Steve took her to the nearest, and luckily clean, guest room. He laid her down in the bed gently, taking her shoes and glasses off before tucking her under the covers and turning of the light, giving Jarvis instructions to let him know when she woke up in the morning.

 

As Tony walked off the opposite way he talked to his trusty AI as nonchalantly as possible, given the situation. “Hey Jarvis, any way you can figure out who she is for me? Any info you can get.”

 

“Of course sir.”

 

**Hello my lovelies! Holly shit look who didn't take a whole year to upload the next chapter! Thanks to some slight life changes that are doing me a lot of good so far, hopefully I'll be able to get more of this out at slightly better rates! I still won't make any promises, especially since I'm going to try and work on some other, slightly more serious projects here soon, but I"m not going to abandon this story! I've had entirely too many ideas for it to let it go to waste. XD Well hopefully I'll be able to get more out for you guys soon, but until then thank you for reading! As always, reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed but flames will be used to roast marshmallows and the souls of the damned. Until next time, bye bye! -KRS**


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